It may well be make-or-break time for a clutch of carmakers that are counting on key upcoming launches to turn the tide for their domestic operations.

Sports Utility Vehicles have emerged as the new hot category and its a fight for the rough terrain and the battle is between the homegrown automakers and the international giants. The story of the SUV is being rewritten in India.

India has a strong appetite for SUVs. The Rs 6 lakh-Rs 1 crore segment has been growing steadily. Such utility vehicles grew fastest in the Indian market and clocked sales of 3.67 lakh units in 2011-12, a growth of 16%.

This is in stark contrast to cars that grew by a meagre 2% in the same period. SUV's share has also grown by over 3% and now constitutes around 14% of the total 26.18 lakh passenger vehicles sold in India in 2011-12.

The latest entrant in the category is the Duster by French carmaker Renault. The company has aggressively priced its newly-launched SUV in the Indian market, in a determined attempt to break the stranglehold of local players Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Tata Motors in the small but high-profile utility vehicles market.

Among French car-makers, Renault enjoys the first-mover advantage in the compact SUV segment as competitors such as Skoda Yeti are over-priced while the Premier Rio that starts at Rs 5 lakh has technical and quality issues. Though, pitted against the Force Motors Force One, Mahindra Scorpio and XUV 500 and the Tata Safari; the Duster doesn't really have it easy.

Ford is also banking on sports utility vehicle EcoSport to reverse its fortunes. The company that last tasted success over two years ago with the Figo in the mass-market segment, is now hoping the EcoSport can do something similar.

Meanwhile, Toyota has begun feasibility studies in India for a subcompact sports utility vehicle (SUV) or multi utility vehicle (MUV) and a mid-size sedan to bridge the gap between the Etios sedan and the Corolla Altis, according to an ET report.

Industry observers say the next-generation Toyota Rush SUV could make its way into the Indian market and could prove to be a strong competitor for Renault's recently-launched Duster, Ford India's soon-to-be-launched EcoSport and the next-generation Scorpio from Mahindra & Mahindra.

According to industry experts, the utility vehicle segment is expected to grow by 15% to 20% over the next five years and there will be more SUVs from the market leaders too. Maruti Suzuki had showcased an SUV concept which may hit the market in 2014-15 and Hyundai Motor India too is working on a concept compact SUV, code-named HND-7.

With the SUV war heating up, ET drives you through some of the most prominent launches, unveilings and developments in this category

The base version of the 5-seater Duster will be available for as low as Rs 7.19 lakh and throw up a big challenge for M&M, which emerged as the market leader despite a late entry.

European carmakers in India have been traditionally known for their premium prices, but the Duster comes at the price of a small sedan, which could lure a larger number of potential Indian customers to upgrade to a bigger and sturdier vehicle.

The Duster will be directly pitted against successful models like the Mahindra Scorpio, Tata Safari and relatively-unknown Premier Rio. Mahindra is expected to come up with a fitting reply, with a new vehicle called mini-Xylo priced much below the Duster.

The Renault move could well be a game changer for the industry. It has lowered the threshold price level of a premium product to compete directly against peers such as M&M, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.

Last month, luxury carmaker Audi outsold all its allotted 500 lot of Q3 compact within the first five days of launch. Mahindra's latest offering, XUV500, has one of the longest customer backlogs since its debut in September last year.

The Duster will be available in eight variants - two petrol and six diesel - but is not expected to hold the price advantage for long. Ford is getting ready to debut a similar vehicle called EcoSport in India while Mahindra's mini-Xylo launch is round the corner.

The Duster shares its platform with the Logan (now re-badged as Mahindra Verito) and currently comes only as a two-wheel-drive version. The petrol variants, powered by a 1.6-litre engine, are priced between Rs 7.19 lakh and Rs 8.19 lakh and offer a mileage of 13.24 km/litre.